In Her Element - Poems

In Her Element is a collection of 60 poems in which award-winning, contemporary, Maltese author Therese Pace tackles the daily vicissitudes of modern life with the fluidity and skill of a master. From Garden Dwarf to Growing Tall, to Orizons of a Disgruntled Citizen and beyond, Pace employs the mighty power of words to convey an unlimited source of expression and emotions. Called "an artisan of the word, a craftswoman, a wordsmith," in these poems Pace presents words that go beyond utterance and meaning, generating a long-lasting echo in the reader's heart, mind and soul.

About the Author

Therese Pace is an award-winning Maltese poet. She is the author of two poetry collections in her native language, one of which, Arpeggi, was awarded the Malta National Book Award in 2004. She has also written Sfumature, a poetry collection in the Italian language; Naqraw u Nirrimaw, a set of six storybooks in Maltese for elementary schoolchildren; Siltastorja: Tahrig il-Fehem (Wise Owl [co-author], 2010), a comprehension exercise book also in Maltese for elementary school; and Ir-Re tal-Gungla u s-Skiet Misterjuz (Faraxa Publishing, 2014), a short story in Maltese which addresses the issue of fear in young children.

Pace has masterminded a Sonnet Project where, from a master sonnet, she wrote another 14 sonnets, with each line of the master sonnet being the first line of each of the other sonnets. She has written Phenomenon, a semi-religious poem in nine parts; three one-act plays and composed lyrics for two oratorios. Pace's work has been published in various anthologies, on Write Me a Metaphor and Ecumenical World Patriarchate, Tra Le Parole e LInfinito, Lyrikline, Poetry Ireland / Poetry International and Diogen among others. Some of her writings have been translated into English, Italian, Spanish and Esperanto.

Pace is the European Union winner of the 2013 Poetry Ireland / Poetry International Competition and the winner of the 2012 and 2013 National Poetry Contest of the Maltese Poets Association. Pace was awarded the Nosside Medal in the 2014 Premio Mondiale di Poesia Nosside. She was awarded a diploma in the poetry category of the 2014 Premio Letterario Internazionale di Poesia, Racconto e Fotografia “Juan Montalvo.” Pace is the winner of the 2007 Concorso Internazionale Poesia e Immagine. She was also awarded first prize and the Premio Critica in the poetry category of the Premio Letterario Internazionale “Tra Le Parole e l-Infinito” in 2006 and 2007 respectively. In 2011, Pace was presented with the Medal of the Maltese Poets Association, an award recognized by the Republic of Malta. In 2014, she was awarded the Unur Birkirkara by the mayor and council of the city in which she now lives.